Three Underrated Heavy Metal Bands
Stampin' Ground, Divine Heresy, Sanctity: All Deserve Better
Jan 4, 2009
One of the great things about metal is the sheer scope of bands out there. At times it's hard to walk down the street without tripping over the latest bunch of hopefuls, axes slung and eyes wide with excited expectation.
It's the very nature of the beast of course that not all of them can become champions of the stage and heralded across every corner of the metal community so without further ado, here are three acts who had the potential to be world beaters, but somehow didn't quite make it.
Stampin' Ground
Formed by bass player Ian Clasper in 1995, Stampin' Ground straddled the underground and hardcore scenes long before it became popular. Forever on the edge of greatness they were sadly overlooked in favour of many of the American bands they supported on jaunts around the UK.
Over the course of their eleven years of active performing they shared stages with Soulfly, Anthrax, The Haunted, AFI, Chimaira and Sick Of It All but never quite made it to the big time themselves.
When Clasper left the band after their triumphant appearance on Download's main stage (featuring two simultaneous Walls Of Death) their days seemed numbered and they finally called it a day in 2006. Their 2003 album A New Darkness Upon Us is well worth a purchase and Lamb Of God fans should lap it up.
Divine Heresy
Formed in the aftermath of his much-publicised split from Fear Factory, Divine Heresy were brought to life by Dino Cazares as a defiant raised middle-finger to all who thought his career was at an end. The band was completed by drummer Tim Yeung and singer Tommy Vext and soon after released the album Bleed The Fifth in early 2007.
Here everything seemed to fall into place as the album was triumph. The songwriting and musicianship were undoubtedly high and the record could easily stand toe-to-toe with some of Fear Factory's finest hours. Unfortunately though an onstage spat led Vext to leave the band and their momentum appears to have stalled. They now have a new vocalist in Travis Smith and should hopefully be back all guns blazing in the near future.
Sanctity
Led by the flame-haired vocalist/guitarist Jared MacEachern, Sanctity trod proudly on the same path as many of the recent thrash revivalists but were not welcomed quite so much by the extreme metal underground. Maybe it was because they were on Roadrunner and their album consequently had higher production values than the ramshackle likes of Municipal Waste, or maybe it was their connection to Trivium frontman Matt Heafy, a man whose touch can make careers but end reputations.
Either way, crowds at Sanctity shows were noticeably younger than those of their thrash contemporaries but despite their volatile live performances (their appearance at Download was a third-stage highlight) they never cracked the glass ceiling and have been mired in line-up changes since. This is a great loss as their only album to date - 2007's Road To Bloodshed - is bursting at the seams with excellent songs and passionate playing. At present they are still officially active but their future appears to be in doubt.
This is just the tip of the iceberg though. Bands like Biomechanical, Ahab, Maroon, Byzantine and more all deserve fresh fans and reappraisal but that's the ultimate truth about metal; not everyone makes it, but they'll make one almighty racket trying.
